Harmalah related, “I heard al-Shāfiʿī say, ‘In Baghdad they named me the Champion of Hadith.’ (1)

Al-Faḍl ibn Ziyād said, “I heard Aḥmad remark, ‘No one has ever taken up inkwell or pen without owing al-Shāfiʿī a debt of gratitude.’ (2)

He—meaning Aḥmad—also said, ‘Al-Shāfiʿī was among the most eloquent of people.’ (3)

Ibrāhīm al-Harbī reported: “I asked Abū ʿAbd Allāh about al-Shāfiʿī, and he replied, ‘His hadith is sound and his judgment is sound.’” (4)

Al-Ḥasan al-Zaʿfarānī observed, “Never did I read even a single line of these books to al-Shāfiʿī without Aḥmad being present.” (5)

Ishāq ibn Rāhawayh declared, “None of the scholars who voiced legal opinions”—and he mentioned a number of leading mujtahids—“matched al-Shāfiʿī in adherence to the Sunnah or in freedom from error. Al-Shāfiʿī is an imam.” (6)

Yahyā ibn Maʿīn stated, “He is above reproach.” (7)

Abū Zurʿah al-Rāzī said, “Al-Shāfiʿī does not possess a single hadith that contains a mistake.” (8)